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Flashtrek: Broken Mirror
Flashtrek: Broken Mirror is the second installment in a series of flash-based internet games created by Vex_Xiang, the original proprietor of the franchise and the developer of its first three titles. What is Flashtrek: Broken Mirror? Flashtrek: Broken Mirror is an Empire-building space-combat game, set in a dystopian universe that is a rough transmutation of the Star Trek'sTM franchise's mirror universe and the creator's own themes. The player's ultimate goal, in a top-down representation of the galaxy, to replace the established governments with their own, or win glory for their base government by conquering all unconquered regimes and planets. The game incorporates a myriad of iconic Star-TrekTM elements, such as the Borg, Dominion, and the Thaleron radiation, utilizing a great deal of artistic license to do so. The game achieved widespread popularity, possibly due to its being a free product with a great deal of established content and lore. Garnering much more success than its substantially less intricate predecessor, it inspired two sequels and a spin-off version, all three based off of their forerunners' acclaimed mechanics. Game Mechanics The game is based off of a 2D graphical setup, in which players will move about single-planet systems while moving between them on an interstellar map by selecting the target planet. This is accomplished through Antimatter, a staple of the series and one of the primary resources used by the player in the course of their playthrough, bought at virtually every planet (sans initially uninhabited ones.) Another essential component is Deuterium, a resource used in the production of facilities and space stations. The player buys these two elements, and others, using Latinum, the game's currency, weighed in bars and tons. Latinum is obtained through a variety of ways; conquering a system and building infrastructure there, accepting trading missions from planets in which you ferry an amount of goods from one part of the galaxy to the next, ordering ships hired on trading missions, or disabling a ship, transporting aboard and stealing the goods inside, although there is only a chance that the transport will result in this action. The player selects their race from a list of nine races, although the last two are hidden in the game's selection menu: * Non-Aligned Humanoid ('Independent') * Earth Officer ('Earth Empire') * Klingon Warrior ('Klingon Empire') * Ferengi Merchant ('Ferengi Alliance') * Romulan Soldier ('Romulan Empire') * Vulcan Explorer ('Vulcan Command') * Cardassian Minion ('Cardassian Order') * Borg Drone ('Borg') * Dominion Soldier ('Dominion') After the player has selected a race, they will choose the name of their character, ship (the lowest class of the species chosen) and government (which will be used for ships hired and planets claimed in the stead of the player and not their faction.) The AI of the game consists of a sophisticated web of interconnecting conflicts and treaties, with various factions rising and falling as the game progresses. A player's relationship with a faction is determined by "prestige" - a percentage calculation of what the system thinks of them. A player's relationship with a system will only become openly hostile when it descends into negative digits, at which point the system will read on the interstellar map as having a declaration of war against your government. Prestige below 50% will allow the planet read as a neutral system on the interstellar map, with no special benefits. Above 50% will allow the player to access the faction's advanced hardware, as well as giving the system to read as an ally on the map. Prestige is influenced by using the "Transporter" tool (in which random events will occur on the planets surface involving your team, resulting in small prestige gains and losses, almost universally -2%-+2%, or no prestige being gained at all) and station building, in which you provide different facilities for the planet which will reward you with large gains in prestige. * Independent - Randomly generated ships that will rove the galaxy without a home planet, treaties or alliances. They will side with government forces against universally hostile threats, such as the Dominion or Borg (the latter is impossible if the player is not playing as a Cube.) 'Independent' also registers for the governments of planets that are not controlled by any of the major or minor factions, such as Nausica and Dyson. * Pirate - Almost entirely composed of Earth-constructed vessels, Pirates are universally hostile and found in remote corners of the galaxy, amassing small to relatively large fleets to harass minimally defended planets, such as Lysia. Lurking as the dominant power in the Nebula, a region of space where 100+ navigational experience is required to enter, their designated homeworld is "Pirate's Haven", accessed by the second naturally operating wormhole in the galaxy, dubbed "the Slip", which lies on the outskirts of Kardon's space. * Borg - Manifesting in one ship class ("Borg Cube") equipped with cutting-edge weapons technology that can cut through virtually every ship's defenses, the Borg will never emerge in the game beyond their home planet Vex, at the deep end of the Nebula. Borg Cubes will only be spawned by the Borg AI in very rare situations, when combat in the system is prolonged to a certain point, at which one or two will spontaneously erupt from the planet and begin cutting down all hostile entities within their vicinity. Borg prestige is universally -100% to all races, but can be won back over time through transporter activity and station-building. * Klingon Empire - The Klingons will regularly launch large-scale raids against Earth and Earth Empire-held territories, which can result in catastrophic damage to special facilities in the systems. Their Bird of Prey are the most powerful in the galaxy, minus the Borg Cube and an end-game Earth Empire ship. * Earth Empire - The Empire is the most influential force in the galaxy. It launches raids against three races - the Dominion, Romulans and Klingons - as well as its former colony Lysia. Its ships, in comparison to those of the rest of the political spectrum, are the most balanced of the pool, although conquering every planet in the name of the Empire will reward the player with the most powerful ship in the game, even eclipsing the Borg cube. * Cardassian Order - The Cardassians are only openly hostile to the Bajorans, and will most likely be engaged in a bloody war for the entire campaign unless the player decides to tip the scales in favor of one side over the other. Their space station is the best in the game, excluding the Dyson Sphere - although, if time and money are taken into consideration the Cardassian Station is vastly more efficient than the latter. * Romulan Empire - The Romulans are the only major power in the game, besides the Pirates, to venture into the Nebula, where they will launch raids against Vex. Romulans are in the unique position of possessing the only merchant with a cloaking device in the game, as well as possessing the only ships equipped with them, making their raids exceptionally dangerous to both the player and allied governments. * Dominion - The Dominion, like the Borg, possess only a single world, although they are exceptionally more active in interplanetary warfare. Also like the Borg, they are openly hostile to every race, but are considerably easier to win over. They possess only two ship types, one of which can only be purchased by the player if they have achieved a high enough prestige and will never be used by the Dominion AI. The Dominion will launch raids almost entirely against the Romulan Empire, and will severely damage their infrastructure over time unless appropriate actions are taken by the player. * Lysia - The Lysian system is protected by a force made up entirely of Lysian Fighters, officially recognized as the worst (and cheapest) ship in the game. It is subject to occasional raids by Earth Empire forces, and it will be very difficult for the planet to repel them for the duration of the campaign, due to their lacking of any kind of superiority in mechanical support. * Delpin - The Delpin possess no animosity towards any incumbent faction at the beginning of the game. However, their military strength is formidable, and they will begin to launch raids against unidentified factions that rise on planets previously uninhabited at the start of a campaign. They are the only planet which supports a functioning Water Park. * Ferengi - The Ferengi are mostly peaceful for the duration of the game. They possess combat capable, unique ships; however, they will never use them unless against Pirates, the Dominion, the Borg, or the Tholians, who are the only people they are at war with. * Andorian - The Andorians have two planets in the beginning of the game, Andoria and Rigel. They also aren't waging war against any other species, but sometimes attack the rising factions during the game. The most important facts about the Andorian are that they are the only faction selling the Tarellian Cruiser (at Andoria), which doesn't use any antimatter, and they are only commanding Tug-Class-II spaceships. When playing as a Vulcan, you will have 100% of prestige in their star systems. * Tholian Syndicate -The Tholians are regarded as the best ship builders in the galaxy, and as such are only hostile to the generally universally hostile races - the Borg, Dominion, Pirates, and Ferengi, the latter being their rivals. In addition to preexisting factions, others may rise on scarcely or uninhabited planets throughout the galaxy, often waging war against each other, rather than the incumbent powers. Category:Games